the university of kent careers and employability service biodiversity/wildlife placements &...

The University of KentCareers and Employability Service

Biodiversity/Wildlife Placements & Creative Jobhunting

Bruce Woodcock University of Kent Careers and Employability Servicebw@kent.ac.uk

You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

Location of the Careers Service

www.kent.ac.uk/careers Telephone: 01227 823299 Email: careerhelp@kent.ac.ukDrop-in times (no appointment needed): 10.30 to 12.30 & 2 to 4 pm

Destinations of Kent Conservation and Wildlife Graduates

Sandwich Placements

• Need to apply early in second year (e.g. some closing dates late October!)

• Need to apply widely, not just to companies in Kent.

• Placements page - lists placement sources and much more www.kent.ac.uk/careers/placements.htm

Advantages of a Placement.

• Gain lots of new skills: and have lots of evidence of these skills for final year applications.

• Usually get higher degree class.• Gives you a chance to try out a career.• Gain greatly in self confidence and maturity.• Learn application and interview skills.• Some employers only recruit placement

students.• May get a job offer for when you graduate• Much lower unemployment rate after graduation

and usually in much better quality jobs.• Much better chance of becoming a scientist.• Helps applications for PhD places.• Can be well paid!

Sources of Placements• Emails from School

• Kent University Vacancy Database www.kent.ac.uk/ces/vacancies.html

• Speculative CVs: use Environment careers page www.kent.ac.uk/careers/bioscience.htm

• Prospects www.prospects.ac.uk

Creative Jobhunting

• The BBC say a third of jobs are never advertised (others say 70-80%). Why?

• Develop a LinkedIn profile• Do lots of research – will uncover placements

others haven’t found, often with less competition

• Do workshadowing and short unpaid internships – can lead to proper internships and will add to CV

• KEW-NET – menoring from Kent Alumniwww.kent.ac.uk/ces/student/kew-net.html

Sources of Environmental Jobs Environment Post www.environmentpost.co.uk Major source of

conservation vacancies. Reference copies are in File R4 in the Careers Service.

ENDS www.ends.co.uk   Environmental Data Services has listings of jobs. Includes a Consultancy Directory.

The Guardian on Wednesdays. Countryside Jobs Service www.countryside-jobs.com The Green Directory www.greendirectory.net/home.cfm Ethical Careers

Service http://peopleandplanet.org/ethicalcareers   Nature Magazine www.nature.com/naturejobs/channels/graduate range of

postgrad, PHD and postdoc positions. Growing Careers www.growing-careers.com vacancies in environment and

conservation, nurseries and garden centres, Environmental Recruitment Agencies

Environment Job www.environmentjob.co.uk. Ecological Recruitment Co. www.eco-uk.com Green Technical Resourcing www.gtr.uk.com ADC Environment Recruitment www.green4u.co.uk

Many jobs in the environment are not advertised - organisations get enough CVs from people applying speculatively to be able to fill their vacancies from these. You need to network and be persistent. See CVs and Covering Letters www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm and Creative Jobhunting www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm to learn how to do this.

Biodiversity Careers Page

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Environment.htm

EXAMPLE CVs

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/environmental-cv.htm

Check you campus emails regularly as I will send you many careers emails

Get voluntary experience for your CV:

Kent Wildlife Trust www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk conservation work in Kent including West Blean Woods. Needs volunteers. Run excellent and cheap wildlife study days on, for example, small mammal and bat identification

Other talks

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/casevents.htm

BRUCE WOODCOCK

• A Duty Careers Adviser is available for short (15 minute) consultations: MORNINGS (10.30 am - 12.30 pm) and AFTERNOONS (2 to 4 pm). Don’t need to book an appointment just ask at reception in the Careers Service (Keynes College Driveway)

• If you need longer ring our reception on 01227 823299 to make an appointment for interview with me.

• Email: bw@kent.ac.uk

Careers Employability Award on Moodle

Assessed by a range of quizzes and assignments

Will greatly improve your career planning and jobhunting skills, giving you strategies to make career choices and will increase your chances of getting a graduate level job.

Takes about 12 hours to complete

On completion you will get a University of Kent Careers Employability Award to add to your CV

Get 60 Kent Employability points for successful completion of the module.

DX_CEA

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm

UNIVERSITY OF KENT CAREERS FAIR

• Tuesday 4th November, Sports Hall, 12 pm – 3 pmA chance to talk informally to all sorts of recruiters offering graduate jobs, sandwich placements and summer internships. See www.kent.ac.uk/ces/careersfair for full details and a list of participating employers. Everybody welcome.

The University of KentCareers and Employability Service

Bruce Woodcock University of Kent Careers and Employability Servicebw@kent.ac.uk

You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

If you can’t get a relevant placement, do something that develops your teamworking/organising/ problem-

solving skills:

BUNAC: Summer Camp USA www.bunac.org.uk

Thursday, 25th November, 12 pm Keynes LT5

Spend up to a year working and travelling in North America.

For a summer of work, travel and culture, try BUNAC's Work America programme, where you can do anything from working in a theme park or a restaurant to arranging an internship with a world famous company.